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I recently ordered this lovely 2018 Rivendell Appaloosa frame. It is designed for 650b wheels (a 51 cm frame) and has 135 mm rear spacing.

Why? I have many wonderful bikes that I thoroughly enjoy riding. But one thing I have never had since 1999 is a bicycle soul mate – that’s the year I crashed my 1976 Centurion Pro Tour. Since then, while I have ridden many excellent bikes, I have never found that one bike that speaks to me, a bike that will take me into the next decades of riding, with comfort, competence, and a spiritual connection that is hard to explain.

In 2012 I built a 650b frameset while attending UBI’s frame building class here in Portland. That experience helped me realize two things: experienced frame builders have much knowledge and lore that newbies should respect and value. And, many cycling “experts” don’t know a thing about frame geometry, especially as it applies to riders under 5’6″. One of the (few?) nice things about being an accountant by trade is that math comes naturally to me. So, understanding the complexity of frame geometry has always been a high priority.

The 650b frame I built back in 2012 is currently being repaired with additional brazing on one of the lug joints that I didn’t do so well at filling with silver the first time out. When that frame has been sand blasted and painted, I’ll build it up.

Rivendell Appy in shipping garb

Meanwhile, I received shipment of the Rivendell Appaloosa and 650b Velocity wheelset I had ordered earlier this winter. When the frame arrived I was amazed to see that Rivendell had protected and packaged the frame in a way that only bike geeks can appreciate. As a buyer of bike frames, I have received countless frames shipped with no tubing or drop out protection. Some eBay sellers simply do not have a clue as to how to properly ship a bike frame, so: Caveat Emptor.

As expected, this bike’s paint scheme is lovely, in fact, extraordinary for this price point. The fork crown has ornate patterns, with mounting holes on top to accept stays for a front rack. The Appaloosa head badge is fun and interesting (it’s a Rivendell!), and all the lugs have been filed and well brazed. For a frameset that costs the consumer a mere $1,300, the value is clearly reflected in these features. A Rivendell frame is one step away from custom, but inexpensive compared to custom options.

Is this a cargo bike?

Horseshoe seat tube/seat post drilling

Whether you want a kickstand or not – here is the bracket for it

Beefier than any other dropout – and with two threaded eyelets.

Two more eylets on the rear dropouts

3 rack mounts on the seat stays, plus the eyelets on the dropouts.

Silver tubes – butted and cro-mo

One thing to note about Rivendell frames is that they can have a longer wheelbase and longer chainstays than expected. This Appaloosa has 51 cm chainstays. That means it is in cargo bike territory for its wheelbase. For this frame (advertised as 51 cm size), I measured the seat tube as 50 cm and the top tube as 55.5 cm. These measurements differ from the specs shown on Rivendell’s website. My measurements are center to center.

There are a few condition issues with the frame. The seat stay cluster was filed very thin, but the upper portion extends outward, and with a little paint loss, is not ideal. Also the rear canti stud braze-ons are not well executed. They look unprofessional, but after examination I think they will be safe to ride. The head badge was not glued evenly to the head tube, as shown above. Naturally, I am documenting these issues in case anything arises with the performance of the bike.

Because the frame is heavier than other frames that I ride, I expect to replace the FSA headset and the low-end Shimano bottom bracket. I’ve got lots of interesting vintage options in my parts bin that are lighter weight and probably more likely to last through the ages, as well as provide better performance. Smaller riders can benefit from weight savings, and I intend to focus on that as I consider options for components.

I discovered Fred Delong’s publications much too late in my life. DeLong’s Guide to Bicycles and Bicycling, first published in 1974 (the year I graduated from high school), is a treasure trove of both technical and non-geeky information, and includes photos and material I have never seen elsewhere.

Fred was a lifelong cyclist, author, and bike guru, and was inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2001, six years after he passed away in 1995.

His book is unusual for its time in American cycle publishing. It features French, Italian, and British built bicycles, and includes discussions of 650b tires with supple sidewalls mounted on low trail camping bikes, avoidance of toe overlap on touring bikes, and the importance of clearance in frame builds to allow for wider tires, as well as eyelets and baze-ons for fenders and racks. Sound familiar?

The above photos are close up crops of the original photo shown as figure 2.11 in DeLong’s 1974 guide. While most of the other photos in the book contain credits or are otherwise referenced, this image was not referenced or credited anywhere in the book. That means we don’t know who built this bike.

So, let’s start with what we do know about this bike. According to DeLong, this bike’s features are as follows:

Remember, this book was published in 1974. The photos in the book are all probably from at least one or two years earlier. Phil Wood founded his hub manufacturing company back in 1971 when, as a racer he became frustrated with hubs developing play and needing an overhaul after each competition. That led him to explore sealed bearing designs for hubs and bottom brackets. By the time of the 1976 BikeCentennial, Phil Wood’s hubs were all the rave, with touring cyclists ordering up Phil Wood hubs for their wheel builds, in preparation for a cross-country journey.

The above photo depicts an extremely unusual (for the time) sloping top tube. The builder’s logos are not clear enough to make out, but the down tube seems to indicate “XP SR”. The seat tube reflects some circular and elliptical logos, presumably also indicating the builder/manufacturer and/or frame tubing transfers. Is this a custom frame? I think not. A custom frame wouldn’t ordinarily have what appear to be model monikers on the down tube. As DeLong indicates in the text, the frame is made of 531 steel and is fillet brazed. The rear brake features through the frame routing for the “200 degree” cable arc. While not necessarily a custom feature, it is also certainly unusual for a non-custom frame built in the early 1970’s.

The other intriguing elements of this bike include:

An extension (presumably) on the Mafac levers

A cover (or something similar) on the rear derailleur

A front tire which appears to be wider than the rear tire

A very long reach stem – possibly to accommodate a shorter than desired top tube length

Of all the fads and trends in the cycling industry, the touring era that accompanied the 1976 BikeCentennial in the U.S. was probably the most positive. While not everyone wants or needs a touring bike – a touring bike is a bike that can work well for all kinds of riding. And, due to economic conditions during this era – favorable exchange rates for the Japanese yen and the oil crisis of the early 70’s – the U.S. market was flooded with low cost, high quality touring bikes in the mid 70’s to mid 80’s. These bikes often survive intact, as they were quite well made to begin with, and were usually equipped with top of the line components.

Japanese brands like Centurion, Nishiki, Bridgestone, Fuji, Miyata, Panasonic, and Univega were among the most well known manufacturers to build high quality touring bicycles. Raleigh, Peugeot, Trek, Specialized, Austro-Daimler, Gitane, Motobecane, Mercier, and others also joined in to build some of the nicest touring bikes ever mass produced.

These touring bikes of the late 70’s and early 80’s hold a special place in my heart. Their excellent build quality and beautiful design represent freedom, exploration, and adventure.

This lovely 1985 Nashbar Toure MT is a great example of the quality that could be had for a reasonable price. The frame was built for Nashbar by Maruishi – a Japanese builder not as well known as others, but still producing a beautifully brazed machine of double butted cro-mo steel. The gorgeous blue sparkle paint and well brazed seat cluster show off its quality.

All the finish work is top notch. This is a bike I would keep for myself if it were my size.

Seat tube has no bottle cage braze-ons – left clean for mounting a frame pump.

There are so many nice features on this amazing bike that it’s hard to list them all. One reason that the bike is so pristine, however, is because long ago the SunTour Mountech rear derailleur had failed, and the bike was put away, thankfully in a dry, clean space.

So, I replaced the rear derailleur with a Shimano 600 long cage mechanism from the same era. It works perfectly with the original 100% SunTour drivetrain.

Triple crank with half step gearing.

This bike was built in the days of gear shifting pattern obsession. Half step gearing was a way to have a routine shifting pattern that would maintain cadence as the terrain changed. In practice, at least for me, I prefer not having to constantly double shift, so I am not enamored with half step gearing and have, when confronted with it, replaced the large middle chain ring with something smaller, such as a 40 or 42. But, some riders love half-step gearing and more power to them (pun intended).

It would be tough to find a similarly engineered touring bike with these quality components, for a price that even remotely comes close to what you can buy this bike for now. One problem is that most cyclists associate Nashbar with low end liquidation components, rather than any kind of quality. But, back in the 1980’s, the arrival of the Nashbar mail order catalog was an exciting event. I ordered many wonderful and interesting components for my old 1976 Centurion from Nashbar back then. Today, however, the company is known for its discounted and discontinued parts, rather than for quality bicycles, for better or for worse.

This wonderful old touring machine is going to a friend’s stable in Southern Oregon, where I know it will be ridden and appreciated. I hope to join him and his spouse on some wonderful rides through Southern Oregon wine country, and I will be a bit jealous his bike.